2nd woman takes Tournament of Roses reins

PASADENA - Sally M. Bixby, just the second woman to lead the Tournament of Roses Association in its 123-year history, officially took the presidential reins on Thursday.

And as Bixby donned her red jacket in the traditional ceremony Thursday night, she named attorney Laura V. Farber as the first Latina on the executive committee. Farber, born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and a partner in the Pasadena law firm of Hahn and Hahn, is now in line to preside over the TofR in 2020.

The proportion of women in the 900-member TofR has risen to more than a third, many more than when she joined as a "white-suiter" in 1989, the Pasadena native said.

"It's much more open, and I think the tournament has done a good job in addressing diversity," she said, noting that the first Asian-American, Richard L. Chinen, will preside in 2014, while 24-year member Gerald Freeny will also make history in 2019 as as the tournament's first African-American president.

Libby Evans-Wright became the first woman president in 2006, and Bixby called her a "great mentor" for women in the organization.

"Her advice to me was to relax, enjoy every minute of the experience and every opportunity that comes your way - and have fun," Bixby said.

Bixby said for her the fun started on her first assignment and has never stopped.

"I started on overnight barricades," she recalled. "I loved it! ... It gets in your blood."

Bixby, a former operating room nurse and director of surgical services at two local hospitals, said she retired from her 38-year career two years ago after finding herself with two full-time jobs.

"I quit the one I got paid for," she joked. Bixby decide on her theme, "Oh, the Places You'll See," two years ago, and said she already has the grand marshal lined up.

The parade theme, from the title of a Dr. Seuss book that's become a popular gift for high school and college graduates, was an easy choice, she said.

"On the last page, it says `So ... be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O'Shea, you're off to Great Places! Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So ... get on your way!"'

As a child, "my son (Ryan) thought the book was written for him," Bixby said, smiling. "He suggested the book ... and it ended there."

Bixby and her husband, Harlan, a retired physician, have two sons and a daughter and eight grandchildren.

She said being the second woman president makes her "proud," but gender doesn't really matter in doing the job.